Jerusalem -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Amene Tekele Haymanot thought he had made the right choice when five years ago he escaped war-torn Eritrea and opened a business in sunny Tel Aviv , Israel .

But he and his countrymen could n't escape conflict for long .

Haymanot never expected himself - or his store -- to become targets of threats and violence in a metropolitan city known for its tolerance . But it was . His windows were smashed in and his business looted during an anti-immigration protest .

`` Now I am afraid here . I can not live this way . I 'm afraid for my life , '' Haymanot , who is an illegal immigrant awaiting refugee status , told CNN .

His fear has been growing for many months because illegal African immigrants have attracted anger in certain parts of Israel -- and Haymanot believes the color of his skin makes him vulnerable -- because many here will assume if you 're black in his Tel Aviv neighborhood -- you are here illegally .

Many Israelis are frustrated with the estimated 59,000 illegal African immigrants in the country and Israel 's inability to deal with them . Most of the new arrivals are from Eritrea and Sudan , and the government says they come illegally through the Egyptian border .

The police say about 700 African immigrants enter the country illegally every week .

Illegal African immigrants are blamed by residents in neighborhoods where there is a large African population for increasing levels of crime , suffocating the infrastructure and changing the fabric of Israel .

Many Israelis who sympathize with the plight of African immigrants say they believe racism plays into all this . Some Israelis are asking how a country that founded by Jews trying to escape persecution could turn against anyone trying to escape danger in their own lands .

Attorney Asaf Weitzen , who works with the immigrant hotline in the south Tel Aviv neighbourhood of Hatikva , trying to sort out immigrants ' legal problems , says : `` There is a very big pressure on the neighborhood , and the structures can not support so many people . '' He adds that the problem is exacerbated because newcomers come from a different background , speak a different language and have a different approach to life as well as by the fact they are a different race .

The biggest problem that immigrants and Israel face , Weitzen says , is the lack of a proper and enforceable immigration policy .

He says the Eritrea population should be award asylum and given the necessary papers to work . His words echo the call from the United Nations for Eritreans to be given refugee status due to conditions in their home country .

But Israel has no diplomatic relations with Sudan , the source of the second largest illegal immigrant group in the country , so repatriating those immigrants is nearly impossible .

The current Israeli policy leaves the immigrants in an unsustainable holding pattern , says Weitzen : They are not allowed to legally work but do so anyway , leaves residents frustrated as the number of poor grow in certain neighborhoods , putting pressure on everything from housing to hospitals .

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the immigration problem is being dealt with .

`` The problem of infiltrators must be resolved and we will resolve it , '' he said last Thursday . `` We will complete the construction of the security fence in several months and soon will start the process of sending the migrants back to their home countries . ''

Anti-immigrant sentiment is particularly strong in Hatikva , partly due to the influx of large numbers of African immigrants who have moved in there . In May an anti-immigration protest numbering several hundred demonstrators boiled over into all-out violence bashing in a few store and car windows owned by African immigrants . -LRB- TRY THIS FIX -RRB-

Israeli protesters chanted slogans such as `` infiltrators get out '' and `` Tel Aviv : A refugee camp '' . Three members of the right wing Likud party -- part of the governing coalition - were among the politicians who attended . One of them , Miri Regev , was quoted as saying that `` the Sudanese are like a cancer in society . '' Police arrested 17 Israeli protesters at the demonstration and charged them with property damage .

In two separate cases in May , two African illegal immigrants were arrested and charged with raping teenage Israeli girls , sparking even more tension between the communities in some parts of the country .

Even mentioning the issue of illegal immigration in the neighborhood where the violence broke out causes crowds of residents to form . One was close to tears about the situation , saying that people feared the influx of Africans -- and sometimes Africans themselves .

`` They come by group , by group , by group and I -LSB- am -RSB- alone , I -LSB- am -RSB- afraid , '' said long-time resident David Ovady , who has lived in south Tel Aviv for 40-plus years . He held up a container of pepper spray that he now keeps with him at all times when he is walking around the neighborhood .

Dror Kahalani , a community activist who has lived in the neighborhood for 45 years , said through tears that he knows the immigrants are human beings and need help -- but that it 's not up to residents to foot the bill for them .

`` The government must , must in every meaning of the word , starting tomorrow morning , '' said Kahalani , `` gather them all together , build them a tent city and give them solutions , food , medical , everything they need , give it to them . But not here . ''

In the aftermath of the attacks and arrests , visual reminders of the tension are gone but not the sentiment . `` Someone has to take over the law , '' Kahalani said .

The day after the attacks , Netanyahu denounced the violence and what many described as provocative language used against the illegal immigrants . `` I would like to stress that the expressions and acts that we have viewed last night are unacceptable , '' the prime minister said .

Amene Tekele Haymanot , who works and lives in Hatikva , says that his Israeli neighbors continue to make threats and intimidate him even after breaking apart his business .

He says Israelis in the neighborhood threatened to kill him and burn his place down .

With no official refugee status he now wants to close his store and move somewhere where he can live in peace . So far he ca n't seem to find that , no matter where he goes .

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Tension has flared in parts of Israel between some immigrants from Africa and residents of the neighborhood

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Residents says that the infrastructure and public services can not cope with the new arrivals

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Many Israelis who sympathize with the African immigrants say they believe racism is a factor

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the immigration problem is being dealt with